A new study published in The Lancet says that advances in treatment since the late 90’s have added 13 years to the average life expectancies of people with HIV. In high-income countries with the appropriate health care available, a 20-year-old infected with HIV in 2008 can expect to live another 49 years with the disease. The team, involving Bristol University …

A huge kerfuffle has erupted in Seattle over this weekend’s Critical Mass cyclists’ rights event in which a driver hit two cyclists, then was pulled from his vehicle and hit in the head with a bike lock while uninjured cyclists smashed his windows and slashed his tires. There are many conflicting reports on Slog. Cyclists are claiming that the driver …

Perry Street, West Village, Sunday 5pm…. Woman On Cell: Hey, I just signed the lease! The truck doesn’t come until Wednesday but I already met some of the neighbors and they said they’d help. Very nice guys. You should see them. I think everybody in the building is, like, a bodybuilder or something.

While I don’t personally subscribe to the concept of heaven or hell, Pam Spaulding tips us to the latest question on WayToGod.org, which she describes as a “fundie Dear Abby.” Question: I am a born-again Christian, having come to faith 10 years ago when I admitted to Christ I was a sinner, believed that Christ is God’s Son and that …

The California Attorney General’s office has reworded Proposition 8 so that voters understand that they would be rescinding an existing right. The new text: Proposition 8ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY.INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT Changes California Constitution to eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized …

Yesterday John McCain appeared on This Week with George Stephanopolous where he flip-flopped back to his original position against gay adoption. Earlier this month McCain came out against gay adoption only to have his campaign backtrack later from that position. “Family values, family values, family values,” said the man with the spotless personal track record.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa abruptly pulled out of his planned keynote speaker role at Saturday’s Human Rights Campaign gala in San Francisco. Some local gay rights leaders and activists had called for a boycott of the gala in protest of last year’s ENDA/transgender debacle. When the San Francisco Labor Council joined the protest, that put Villaraigosa in the uncomfortable …

Opened in 1994, last year the tiny Cubbyhole was voted the best lesbian bar in NYC. Perhaps that’s faint praise for a town that has less than a handful of such establishments, but the few times I’ve been inside I found a generous and friendly staff and a welcoming clientele. The Cubbyhole is on W.12th Street in the West Village. …

Nike has announced that it has canceled its “That Ain’t Right” campaign after it was widely criticized as homophobic by gay bloggers and advertising critics. Via ESPN, here is Nike’s statement: Nike is strongly opposed to discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting athletes regardless of their sexual orientation. The advertisement in question is based purely …

“For those who oppose the death penalty and want to see it end, our best bet is to vote for Barack Obama because his supporters have been working behind the scenes to end this practice. God bless America. It has been great living here. That’s all.” – Mississippi death row inmate Dale Bishop, shortly before he was put to death …

Acting on a petition filed by the Christianist group Repent America, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that struck down that state’s 2002 hate crimes law, saying it was inappropriately attached to an unrelated bill. Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision striking down amendments that added sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, gender, and mental …

Waiting for George Michael to take the stage on Wednesday, I was grumbling to Aaron that I only went to see “oldies” acts these days, how everybody I’d seen in concert this summer had been around for 25 years or more. Yaz, Donna Summer, B-52’s, Cyndi Lauper, Laurie Anderson, etc. Aaron said, “Well, don’t you know of any new bands …

– The screenplay for Hairspray 2 will be written by John Waters. “Also set to return are director/choreographer Adam Shankman, the song-writing team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.” The first Hairspray: The Musical grossed over $200M and the sequel is set to open in July 2010. But somebody also thought Grease 2 …

A Ventura County, California judge has ruled that the 14-year-old killer of gay teen Lawrence King will be tried as an adult. Relying on past court decisions, a judge ruled Thursday that trying a 14-year-old boy accused of murder in an adult court does not violate the constitution, swatting down legal arguments raised by the boy’s attorney that it was …

The Human Rights Campaign has announced that candy giant Mars Inc. has agreed to pull their new campaign for Snickers. The commercial features Mr. T machine-gunning an effeminate-appearing Olympic race-walker. Earlier this week, AdAge critic Bob Garfield issued an open letter to the head of the ad agency responsible for the ad, calling for its immediate withdrawal. Following conversations between …

As part of Central Park’s 150th anniversary celebration, beginning today you can ride a tethered balloon to a height of 300 feet over over the trees. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Olmsted and Vaux’s Greensward plan — the original design for the world’s most famous park — the Central Park Conservancy and New York City Department of Parks & …

This is looking north on Broadway from 60th Street under Trump International Tower near Columbus Circle.

Reviews of Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin yesterday appear to be mixed, with the New York Times calling it “vague on crucial issues of trade, defense and foreign policy.” However, The Nation loved it, saying, “To much of the world, Bush’s talk of freedom is code for messianism, arrogance and empire. Obama reframed the debate–and reclaimed the word–with his spectacular …

Last night I trekked to Midtown with Aaron for my fourth “oldies” concert in a week, George Michael at Madison Square Garden. Neither of us are particular fans, but while the last George Michael record I bought was probably the 12″ of 1982’s Wham Rap, I’m not not a fan either. Most of my interest in George Michael over the …